Problems defining states

Korea

- divided into two occupation zones by United States and former Soviet Union after World War 2- they divided the state into two along 38 degrees north parallel - two different forms of government within Korea *Communism in People's Republic of Korea *Republic in the the Republic of Korea - both parts of Korea want it to be one united state, however this goal was put on hold after Korea began to develop Nuclear weapons

Taiwan

- Taiwan is recognized by most as a sovereign state - Taiwan is listed as part of China, and until 1999, Taiwan agreed with this claim- the fued began because of two parties in China, the Nationalists and the Communists *the Communists won control, but the Nationalists, kept control in Taiwan, making their government much different from China - Taiwan is the most populous state in the UN.

Western Sahara (Sahrawi Republic)

- like Taiwan and North and South Korea, the Western Sahara is often considered a soveriegn state. - the western Sahara is a battle ground for territorial deputes between Spain and Morocco- Spain controlled the territory until 1976, after that the territory was recognized as free, Mauritania and Morocco annexed parts to the new state, however 3 years later Mauritania withdrew and Morocco took over the territory. - the UN is trying to pass a bill to get the people of the Western Sahara to vote on their independence-Spain owns two cities in Spain, Cueta, and Melilla

Varying size of states

- some states are large *EX: Russia, China, Canada, the U.s.- Some states are very small(MICROSTATES) *EX: Andorra, Antigua, and Barbuda

Development of state concept

ancient and medieval states

the modern movement to divide the world began in Europe

ancient states

- along the fertile crescent, in between the Persian Gulf, and the Mediterranean Sea, was a place called Mesopotamia, and from there arose the first city-states -city-state- is a soverign state that comprises a town and a surrounding countryside- the many different groups would alternate power as military strength varied and fro there Egypt emerged

early European States

- the roman empire was at one point the strongest empire, having 38 provinces *they used the same set of laws created in Rome - the empire later fell after attacks from people living on their own ground. - powerful rulers emerged after the fall of Rome

colonies

- a colony is a territory legally tied to a sovereign state - in some cases the soverign states only runs the military and foreign affairs, though some only control internal

colonialism

- European states came to control through colonialism - the Europeans came over for three reasons 1. Christianity 2. help with the economy of Europe (getting resources) 3. get numerous territories to show power over other states -the movement began in the 1400s , when European explorers accidentally stumbled upon the western hemisphere.- Great Britan had the largest amount, but most are independent now.

colonial practices

-the french and the British had the most colonies - the french tended to hover more over their colonies, the controlled them more- the British tended to give them some room to rule themselves- most african colonies became independent after World War 2

few remaining colonies

-colonies used to be plentiful, but now there are rarely any. -most are in the Pacific Ocean or Carribean Sea- the largest remaining colony is Puerto Rico- other than Puerto Rico most Colonies have populations between 100,000 and 300,000- the least populated colony is Pitcairn Island, which has a population of 54